Expectations of an imminent peace summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been dashed after officials from both countries said no such meeting is currently planned.
The announcement comes just days after Trump told reporters he anticipated meeting Putin “within two weeks or so” in Budapest, Hungary, to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. However, senior White House officials later clarified there were “no plans for President Trump to meet with President Putin in the immediate future.”
The Kremlin echoed that stance, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that while Moscow remains open to talks, “no precise timeframe was initially set” and that any summit would require “serious preparation.”
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump defended the delay, suggesting it was about ensuring the talks would be productive. “I don’t want to have a wasted meeting,” he said. “I don’t want to have a waste of time, so I’ll see what happens.”
Hopes for a near-term breakthrough have dimmed as reports surface of sharp disagreements over the terms of a ceasefire. According to Reuters, Russia recently sent a private communique demanding full control of Ukraine’s Donbas region — a condition that directly contradicts Trump’s public suggestion that both sides “freeze the war at current battle lines.”
The conflicting positions underscore the fragile and uncertain path toward ending the war in Ukraine. While Trump has repeatedly signaled his desire to broker peace, Washington and Moscow remain far apart on what that peace would look like — and when, or if, the two leaders will sit down to discuss it.